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ILLINOIS
TEACHERS’ UNIONS FUNNEL NEARLY $3.9 MILLION TO MADIGAN
Illinois Policy Institute/
Mailee Smith
Teachers’
unions have provided lots of campaign cash to Illinois House Speaker
Mike Madigan, who’s been implicated in a bribery scandal. Teachers who
don’t want their money sent to a corrupt system can opt out of the
union. |
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 The longest-serving speaker of a state House of Representatives
in the U.S. is embroiled in a corruption scandal that just might be his
political undoing.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been implicated in a federal
corruption investigation into whether Commonwealth Edison directed money,
contracts and jobs to associates of his as part of an ongoing effort to buy his
influence over legislation. Fellow Democrats all over the state of Illinois are
calling for him to resign.
But not the state’s government unions. They have too much invested in their
financial partnership with Madigan to see him step down.
In the past 26 years, government unions have poured more than $10 million into
campaign committees controlled by Madigan, according to records with the
Illinois State Board of Elections.
Over one-third of that money – nearly $3.9 million – came from the American
Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, their state
affiliates and political action committees.
Unions like to propagate the myth that membership dues aren’t spent on politics.
It’s the PAC, not the union itself, which makes political contributions, they
claim. If teachers want to contribute to the union’s political agenda, they can
do so by submitting a separate donation to the PAC.
But that simply isn’t the case. In 2018 alone, the American Federation of
Teachers – not its political action committee – gave $250,000 to Madigan’s
personal election committee, according to records filed with the U.S. Department
of Labor.
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That isn’t how most teachers envision their dues
money being spent.
Fortunately, teachers who don’t want to financially support
politicians have another option: They can opt out of union
membership.
Educators who opt out are guaranteed the benefits provided in the
collective bargaining agreement with their district – regardless of
union affiliation.
The guaranteed benefits included in a contract may include the
following:
While liability insurance and job protection
coverage may be provided through union membership, teachers have
other options in that regard as well.
Alternative associations – such as the Association of American
Educators – offer liability insurance and job protection coverage,
often at a fraction of the cost of union membership.
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